Damon the Dog Again
by azurefang
Summary: This story is based on Damon the Dog by KeKe113. I enjoyed her story and wanted to write a sequel. KeKe gave me permission. It's just a day in the life of a dog. Not any dog. Damon.


DAMON THE DOG, AGAIN

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me. The idea for "Damon the Dog" belongs to KeKe 113.

A/N I thought "Damon the Dog" was a cute story. I wanted to write a story based on KeKe's story and she gave me permission to do so. It's just a day in the life of a dog. Well, not just any dog. Damon.

"In the Morning"

Damon Salvatore woke at dawn, but he didn't move. As he often did, he lay quietly listening to the sounds of the house and the neighborhood. He could hear a bird, a cardinal, calling outside. A pair of them lived on his property.

Something smelled funny. It was vaguely familiar, but for the moment he couldn't pin down what it was. Oh, well. He felt hungry for breakfast and he had to pee. So, he had to get up, but he felt really lazy this morning. More than usual.

He opened his eyes as he reached up to scratch an itch on his chin. A black paw came up to his face.

What? A paw? A dog's paw and it looked familiar! So did the long black nose in front of his eyes. With a yelp, he sat up, letting the sheet slide from his nude body. Oh oh. Dog's body! He was a dog and it looked like the same black Lab that he had been a few months ago, only bigger. How could this be?

He swore to himself, but all he heard were growls. Feeling both anger and panic, he jumped down from the bed and ran to look in the full-length mirror. Oh yeah, a dog, sure enough. Not a puppy, either, but a full grown big, black dog. He noticed that he had blue eyes, not the usual color for Labs. They were his own blue color and it looked weird. The whole situation was weird.

Bonnie had cast the first spell; had she done it again and why? They didn't get along well, he and she, but what had he done lately that she would do this to him? How dare she? She was going to get an earful! He went back to the side of the bed and reached for his cell phone on the night stand. His paw knocked it on the floor. He was shocked to realize that he couldn't call anyone, much less Bonnie.

_Why did she do this to me? Why? Why? Don't panic, Damon. Okay, first things first. I have_ _to pee. I gotta go outdoors into the yard like a good dog_, he told himself. He certainly didn't want to make a puddle in the house. He wasn't a puppy who couldn't hold his water. Of course, he could jump into the bathtub and go. No, he wanted to go outside.

He padded to the door of his room and looked at the doorknob. Opening the door was a challenge, but he could do it. Dogs were taught to do all kinds of things. He stood up and put a paw on each side of the knob and tried to turn it. He had turned the knob a million times and hadn't ever thought of which way to turn. He stood down and gave it some thought. _Try again, turn it the other way_.

He put his paws on the knob again, trying to press in from the sides, which was difficult because his paws mainly faced frontwards. Still, the knob turned with a click. Unfortunately, his weight was against the door and it didn't open.

He whined in frustration and scratched at the door, a useless action and he knew it. In addition, he put long scratches on the good wood of the door. He sat down and stared at the door, thinking. He stood again, put a foot on the door frame and took the knob in his mouth. _Grasp and_ _turn_, he told himself. It worked! The door opened a crack. He put his nose in the crack and opened the door. Success! _Nothing foils Damon Salvatore for long! No way!_ he thought with a grin.

Feeling smug, he trotted down the stairs and looked at the front door. No, he couldn't unlock and open that door. Instead, he trotted down the hall to the kitchen and went to the back door_. Oh, oh. I probably can't open this one either because of the lock. Damn. _Just in case, hemouthed the deadbolt handle, but he couldn't turnit_. Damn, damn_, he cursed with a growl.

Okay, since he didn't smell Stefan's fresh hand scent on the lock, the younger brother must still be in his room. The sun wasn't up yet and Stefan usually hunted rabbits or deer at dawn. He must be getting up by now. Using the back stairway, Damon went up to the second and then the third floor.

Stefan's door was closed, but he could hear movement inside. He scratched a little on the door and gave a little whine. He didn't want to bark or sound aggressive. There was no telling how Stefan would react. He might think for a second that the dog was a werewolf!

The door opened and a surprised Stefan looked down at him. Damon whined again and wagged his tail. He even let his tongue hang out. It was disgusting the lengths he would go to, just to make a good impression on his brother.

"Where'd you come from, dog?" Stefan asked, looking perplexed and licking his lips. Stefan wasn't above sampling a little bit of dog blood. At this hour he was hungry and everything that moved looked like food.

Damon whined and wiggled his body. He lay down and rolled onto his back. _Come on, Stefan, can't you see I'm me in dog form again? Don't you dare look at me like I'm a meal! I'm making a fool of myself here to impress you. Put on some clothes and let me go outdoors. Please or I'll pee on your bed._

"Damon?" Stefan asked, the truth dawning on him, especially when he looked into the dog's blue eyes. The animal jumped up from its upside-down position and licked his hand.

"You smell like a dog, you know," Stefan said, wrinkling his nose. Damon didn't smell bad, he just had a doggie smell, which Stefan's sensitive nose could detect. He was amazed that Damon was a dog again, and a full-grown dog at that.

_Oh, that's what I smelled when I woke up_, Damon thought. He wanted to urge Stefan to dress and let him out, so he turned toward the hall as if to say _let's go_. He whined. He headed toward the stairs and stopped and stared back at Stefan.

The younger brother, being reasonably smart, suspected the dog wanted either to go out or to eat. "Let me get dressed. Okay?"

Damon returned to the doorway and sat waiting, impatiently watching his brother get dressed. _Can't you dress a little faster? All you have to do is pick something from the pants and shirts you got strewn around the room. Jeez, how can the kid live in such a mess?_

"What'd you do to make Bonnie throw a curse on you again, huh?" Stefan asked as he stuffed his feet into athletic shoes with long floppy laces. They were dirty shoes, the ones he used for hunting in the woods.

Damon just let out a huff. He had no answer. When Stefan finally headed for the stairs, Damon bounded down ahead of him, his nails clicking on the wood. When he reached the bottom, he headed for the back door. He stood there, trying to look urgent and giving a whine.

"Gotta go, huh?" Stefan said as he unlocked the door and opened it. He followed the dog outside to the large patio.

Damon dashed out to the lawn and went to the nearest tree to lift his leg. _Ah, relief. Wait a _ _ minute, some other dog has been here first! _He stopped to sniff_. I'll bet it's that schnauzer Morty. How dare he pee in my yard!_ _I better check the other trees!_

Stefan watched the black dog sniff and lift a leg in several places in the yard. Was this really Damon? Would he do the dog thing like that? What other dog could get into the house? It had to be Damon. He needed to call Bonnie. His cell phone was still in his room, so he went back into the kitchen and used the wall phone.

"Stefan, what's up?" Bonnie said, surprised to have him call so early.

"Hi, Bonnie. Look, did you turn Damon into a dog again?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. Finally, Bonnie spoke hesitantly. "No. I didn't. Are you saying he's a dog again?"

"Either that or there's a strange blue-eyed black Lab in my house. Well, actually, he's out peeing in the back yard."

"I didn't do it, Stefan. After all this time, I can't believe the spell was reactivated. Could it be some other puppy?"

"This is no puppy. He's a full grown dog. With blue eyes. And he acts like Damon. Sort of. What am I going to do with him? Elena took care of him before. What did she feed him?"

"I think she gave him blood and maybe dog food. I don't know what else."

"Blood? He's still a vampire? A vampire dog?"

"I really don't know, Stefan. Does he seem intelligent? I mean, is it really Damon, but in a dog's body? He was definitely in the puppy's body before."

"I think so, but I haven't tested him yet. So far, I think he's just acted like a dog. Okay. I better check on him. Call you later."

He went out to the patio again and looked for the dog. It was still sniffing at trees and bushes. How could he do that? The smell of urine must be awfully strong.

Damon was finished with his smelling task. He still had "business" to attend to. He saw that Stefan was on the patio again watching him. Well, he wasn't about to squat on the lawn with his brother watching him. Instead, he put a scruffy bush between them so Stefan couldn't see, and he did his business there.

"Come on, Damon," Stefan called after a minute. He could just make out the dog behind the bush. It definitely had to be Damon. A regular dog wouldn't bother to hide behind a bush. In a moment, Damon came bounding up onto the patio, his tail wagging and his mouth open.

"I going to hunt. Want to come with me?" Stefan asked.

Damon gave a small woof and wagged faster.

"I want to catch a deer. Don't you dare scare it off. Stay close to me, okay?" Stefan said. In a blur he moved from the patio to the woods, which came right up to the back end of the lawn. He realized that Damon was there as quickly. He was a vampire dog, all right.

Stefan didn't intend to kill the deer. There was a small herd of them in the woods and they came to the edge at dawn and dusk to graze. Sometimes deer could be a nuisance in people's yards, but Stefan found them easy prey since he was on an animal-blood diet these days. Being a fairly big animal, they had a lot of blood and what Stefan took didn't harm them. He was able to compel them and make them feel unafraid of him and what he was doing.

Catching one this morning proved harder. They were afraid of the dog. Finally, Stefan told Damon to remain in one spot. "Stay!" he said.

With a soft growl of annoyance, Damon obeyed and Stefan caught a deer. When he was done feeding, he let the animal go. He returned to where Damon sat waiting.

"Okay, let's go home," he said to the dog.

Damon was hungry and he hoped Stefan would give him something good to eat. He bounded ahead to the house and waited at the back door. As soon as Stefan opened the door, he pushed right on in, almost knocking his brother over. He was a big, solid dog.

"Hey, watch it!" Stefan scolded the animal.

In the kitchen, he looked down at the dog. "Okay. I know Elena gave you blood for breakfast. Do you want that?"

Damon thought that sounded good. He was surprised Stefan knew what Elena had given him. He gave a small snort of agreement. _Of course, I also want some real food. Bacon and eggs would be good, _he said in a couple of little huffs.

Stefan opened the refrigerator and took out a bag of blood from Damon's supply. He cut open a corner and poured it into a bowl.

Damon found himself prancing and turning in circles with eagerness. He couldn't believe he was doing such doggy things. It was embarrassing. When Stefan put down the bowl, Damon slurped it right up, but he was still hungry. He saw that Stefan was taking eggs from the refrigerator and he watched him scramble eggs and put bread in the toaster.

_Bacon! Cook some bacon,_ _Stefan!_ He went to the refrigerator and nudged the door with his nose. He nudged harder and the door opened, since it was held closed only by magnetic strips.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Stefan demanded. He watched as Damon picked up the package of bacon and brought it to him.

Damon handed over the package and then realized that he didn't need to do that. He could have eaten the fatty meat raw. He was a dog and he could eat garbage if he wanted to. Not that he wanted to.

Stefan cooked up several strips of bacon and added more eggs to the scrambled eggs. When he divided the food, half was his and half went to Damon, who bolted it down in doggy fashion.

Now Damon felt sated as far as breakfast was concerned. That had been good. He had done all the good dog things for the morning. With a sigh, he trotted to the study, climbed up on the leather sofa and lay down, his head on a decorative pillow. He went to sleep.

"Early Afternoon"

Damon sat on the study floor and watched his brother. Stefan was laying a thick blanket over the back of the sofa and over the seat.

"If you're going to lie on the sofa, lie on this," he said to the dog.

Actually, Damon was finished with lying around. He wanted to go out again. He trotted back to the kitchen and the back door. He woofed at the door to summon Stefan.

"Time to go out again?" the younger brother asked. "You know what? You need a collar. I think I can cut down a belt and make one for you."

_I don't need a collar. Come on. Let me out. I'll stay in the back yard. I promise,"_ Damon woofed and snorted, but of course Stefan didn't understand him. Instead, Damon padded along behind his brother as they went up two flights of stairs to Stefan's room.

"This old belt will do," Stefan told him and they went back downstairs to the kitchen where Stefan cut the belt with a knife and punched a couple of new holes in it. He then buckled the shorter belt around Damon's neck. "It looks good on you. Okay, I'll let you out, but you better stay in the back yard."

He opened the door and Damon trotted outside. He went around the yard as he had done before, watering trees and shrubs. Then he came to a spot of grass that he had missed earlier. It smelled funny, a subtle scent. He had a sudden urge to roll in it.

_No! Don't roll! Resist the urge. Oh, what the hell, _he groaned and over he went onto his side and then onto his back. He squirmed this way and that, and it felt sooo good. The strange scent was all over him. He got up and shook himself, feeling great, but also disgusted with himself.

Then something caught his eye, some movement over by the hedge at the edge of the lawn. He trotted in that direction and spotted the big yellow cat from down the street. Tigger. Not a very original name. Damon had the urge to chase the cat so he eased up on it until they were almost eye to eye as the cat crouched beneath a bush and growled at him.

_Go on. Run!, _he barked. _ I need the exercise. Of course you can't outrun me. I'm Damon, Vampire Dog! But you can try to … Ow. Ow! Ow! _

With three quick yelps, he jumped back. The cat had hissed in his face and lashed out, giving him slashes on the nose with pointy claws. In fact, the cat had cuffed him three times in rapid succession before he could jump back.

"Damon! What are you doing? Get back here," Stefan yelled from the back door. He watched the dog come across the lawn, looking a little sheepish. In fact, he had his tail between his legs. Stefan spotted the bleeding cuts on the black nose. "Get in the house. Right now. Don't you know better that to fool with that tomcat?"

Stefan used a damp paper towel to wipe the blood from the dog's nose. "I'm going to lick your wound, so it'll heal. Hold still." He carefully did this, resisting the urge to suck some of the dog's blood, instead. Of course, Damon would have healed quickly anyway. "Damn, Damon, have you been rolling in something? I can't believe this! Do you have to behave like a dog, just because you are one?"

"_Easy for you to say, _Damon snorted. His nose felt much better. Stefan had the kiss that healed. He then stood patiently while Stefan ran a couple of wet paper towels over his black coat, trying to remove whatever scent he had rolled in.

Damon felt thirsty for water. He didn't want blood. He stood up at the sink to hint at a drink of water, but Stefan was walking out of the kitchen. Water. He wanted water. Suddenly, it occurred to him where water was. The old doggie stand-by, the toilet. There was a half-bath in the downstairs hall, but that door was closed. In fact, all bathroom doors were closed except his own and Stefan's. It was his own that he trusted to be clean, so he trotted up the stairs.

He went straight to his bathroom and the toilet. He always flushed after using it, so the water was fresh and clean. He lapped up quite a bit until he was no longer thirsty. Refreshing! Coming out of the bathroom, he eyed his bed. It was unmade since that morning and it annoyed him that he couldn't make it and Stefan wouldn't think to do it. With a sigh, he went downstairs and to the study where his brother was now on the computer. It was a weekend and therefore no school.

It occurred to him that he should be doing something. He had intended to wash laundry and go to the grocery store. They were boring, mundane chores, but they had to be done. It was unlikely that Stefan would think to do that. At least not until they ran out of some foods. The younger brother tended to let the older brother take care of such things.

Damon also missed stopping by the Grill for a drink and a visit with the regulars there. He had wanted to talk to Liz Forbes about something. Well, that would have to wait.

A sound caught his attention and he dashed to the front window of the study. A car had pulled into the driveway.

_Elena! Elena's here! Elena's here! Oh sweetie, you came to see me! I knew you would. I hoped you would! Elena's here, Stefan!_

"Damon, shut up! Quit that barking," Stefan yelled. He saw the black dog leave the window and dash for the hall, hitting the runner rug and skidding across the hall. He almost laughed as the dog scrambled, getting nowhere as the rug bunched up behind him like in some cartoon. Finally, Damon made progress and bolted for the front door. Stefan followed.

Elena opened the front door and was knocked back a step by the big black dog that jumped up against her, his paws on her shoulders.

_ Elena! I love you! I love you! I wish you could understand me, _Damon thought as he whined and laid big wet doggy kisses on her face. It was more than he would have been allowed to do as a human, so he kissed her until Stefan grabbed his collar and yanked him back.

"Damon! Stop it," Stefan scolded, holding onto the collar. He could feel the dog vibrating with excitement. He also knew Damon was taking advantage of his situation to kiss Elena.

Elena looked stunned as she wiped dog kisses from her face with the back of her hand. "This dog is … Damon? Like when Damon was a puppy?" she stammered. She walked into the hall and closed the door behind her.

"Yeah. Good old Damon. He's a little undisciplined. Sorry," Stefan apologized, giving the collar a yank as the dog pranced and wagged and looked overjoyed to see the girl.

"Bonnie did another spell?"

"I called her. She said she didn't, so I don't know why this happened. I think he got up this morning as a dog. I noticed he didn't make his bed. Come on in. Don't sit on the sofa. He's been lying on it and he'll be all over you. Damon, come on. Behave yourself."

_If I was still a puppy, she's kiss me back. I could climb up onto her lap and snuggle. She let me get away with a lot when I lived with her those three days. I slept on her bed. Man, did I get to see stuff! I saw her in all her naked loveliness! _Damon thought. Of course, that had not been Elena's choice.

Stefan had let go of his collar, so he followed Elena into the study and sat beside the chair she sat in. He nudged her hand and she patted him and rubbed his ears. He loved it. He kept his adoring eyes on her as she listened to Stefan's account of what had happened.

Without any input from the dog, Stefan said he would definitely keep him at their house. He also asked about dog food and they decided what Daman would eat. The dog was a bit surprised to see Stefan make a shopping list, not only for dog food, but also for some of the human food they were short on. When "push came to shove," Stefan would do things that needed to be done.

The drive to the supermarket turned out to be fun for Damon. They went in Elena's SUV. Damon sat in the back and Elena opened a window for him. He put his head outside, relishing the breeze as she drove. His ears flopped in the breeze and his eyeballs kept drying out. He had no idea why it was so much fun, but it was. Of course, they didn't take him into the store. He was left to guard the vehicle and to give his deep woofs at anyone who came too close. Damon, the Vampire Dog on duty.

After the shopping, Elena drove them home and helped put the groceries away. However, she didn't stay longer. Disappointed, Damon went over to the liquor bar. He couldn't open a bottle and he didn't want to take a chance on breaking one of the nice crystal decanters, so he turned away from the liquor. With a huff, he got onto the sofa and took a nice nap.

"Evening"

Damon noted that Stefan didn't go hunting as evening came on. Instead he cooked and ate a decent regular meal. The food Stefan put down for Damon consisted of dry dog kibble mixed with ground sirloin. Damon couldn't resist the sirloin, so he ate the whole bowlful of mix. Afterward, Stefan let him out in the backyard again.

Despite the fact that Damon had done this twice before on this day, he still was enthusiastic about sniffing and watering the trees and plants. He could tell the schnauzer had snuck into the yard again. That was so annoying. The smaller dog had no right to mark plants in the Salvatore yard!

Damon spotted movement near the edge of the yard and he eyed it carefully to be sure it wasn't the tomcat again. It wasn't. It was a rabbit. Okay, this one he could chase without fear of having his face lacerated. He took off running and they entered the woods beyond the landscaped grounds. The chase was exhilarating. Damon didn't use his vampire speed. He didn't want to catch the rabbit; he just wanted to enjoy the chase.

The rabbit went to ground, ducking down into a hole under a bush. Damon sniffed and made a brief attempt to dig the animal out of the hole. Digging was fun! He'd have to do more of it, but not in his own yard, which he paid landscapers to take care of.

Giving up on the rabbit, he began to cruise around in the darkening woods, his nose to the ground for scents. More rabbits and a couple of deer moved away at his approach. Then he heard a small sound. It sounded like a child crying. Why would a child be in this woods anywhere near this area? Or at this hour?

He searched and listened, traveling further into the woods, mostly behind the Lockwood property. Yes, he was getting closer. Finally, he came to a hole in the ground. The child's cries were coming from down in the hole. With surprise, he realized that this was the hole made by Elijah when he kidnapped Elena. He had collapsed the roof of the underground caves and left Elena down there being threatened by his sister Rebekah.

Weeds and brush had grown up around the hole so it was hard to find or to see. The child must have wandered into the woods and fallen in. He looked down the hole into the dark recess.

_Are you hurt? Talk to me, _he said, but then he realized that all the child heard was a barking dog. _I can't get you out. I'll go get Stefan._ The child, between three and four years old, responded by screaming. She was obviously afraid of big, black dogs barking down at her under the darkening sky.

Damon rushed back to his home and to the patio, getting there just as Stefan was coming out the back door.

"I was just coming to look for you. Where'd you go? Didn't you hear me calling you?" the younger brother fussed.

_How do I tell him to come rescue a little kid? How would Lassie do it, if Timmy was down the well? This is corny, but it might work._

Damon ran a short way toward the woods, then he stopped and barked back at Stefan. The brother just stared at him. Damon came closer to the patio and then headed to the edge of the yard again.

"Quit fooling around, Damon. Come on inside now," Stefan called to him.

Damon barked and whined. He growled a curse of frustration. He turned around and around, whining in as worried a tone as he could. He sat down and watched Stefan step down from the patio and walk toward him. He didn't want Stefan to grab his collar and haul him back to the house. If Stefan zipped over to him in a blur, he might not be able to jump away.

He got up and moved into the woods, barking and whining. _Did Lassie have this much trouble bringing help? _he wondered.

"Damon! Get back here! I don't want to play games with you," Stefan shouted, but he continued to follow. "Where are you going?"

With relief, Damon realized that Stefan was following and was apparently curious about his actions. As a result, they arrived at the hole in the ground. Stefan didn't hear anything because the child had stopped crying.

"What?" Stefan asked the dog.

Damon looked down into the dark hole. With his good vision he could see the child curled up in the dirt next to a pile of rocks. He barked and she let out a shriek.

Surprised, Stefan moved to the edge and looked down. He, too, could see well in the dark.

"Oh, my God! There's a kid down there!" he said.

_Duh,_ thought Damon.

"It's all right, darling," Stefan called down to the child. He let himself down into the hole, landing lightly by the rocks, but not on the child. The little girl crept to him. He could see cuts and scrapes and she was favoring her right leg. "Let me pick you up. Okay? I can jump up and get us right out of here. Okay?"

The child sobbed and nodded and reached up to him. He picked her up carefully and then levitated both of them up out of the cave. Once he was standing on firm ground he asked, "What's you name?"

The child didn't answer. She snuggled against Stefan's chest, her face against his neck. She was shivering, not only because she was frightened and hurt, but because the air in the cave and the night air were chilly.

"I wonder where she came from," Stefan said to Damon. "I guess we can take her back to the house and call Sheriff Forbes."

At that same time, they saw the light of flashlights. Then came the voices, calling, "Danni!" "Daniella!" "Where are you, sweetheart?" The voices were coming from the direction of the big Lockwood house. Stefan started walking in that direction.

Damon walked ahead of Stefan. He realized the child must have wandered off from the Lockwoods' place. The child and her parents must be visiting there. Maybe Stefan would tell them that Damon had been the hero and discovered the child. No, Stefan couldn't say that Damon was the dog. He'd have to say the dog found the kid.

Would the Lockwoods wonder how come Stefan now had a black Lab? Both Tyler and his mother Carol might accept that the dog was Damon, but any house guests were unlikely to do so. Tyler and Carol had probably reached the point where they would believe almost anything. Like Elena. Like Sheriff Liz Forbes.

Damon suddenly felt odd. He ached all over for a moment and stumbled. He didn't fall over, but he landed with his nose in the dirt. Then he felt chilled all over.

"Damn, Damon!" Stefan said, almost stepping on his brother. He stopped and stared. In front of him was not the black dog, but his real brother, on his hands and knees and naked as a newborn babe. The woods were dark now, but Stefan could see well. And besides, Damon's white back and butt were plenty easy to see. Stefan clutched the child and made sure she wasn't staring at this sight, but her face was nestled against his neck.

"Damon, you're naked. Get up and get out of here before the searchers spot you!" he said to his brother.

Feeling momentarily confused, Damon raised his head and one arm. Human arm. He looked under himself, along his abdomen to his thighs. _Yup, human, all right. And naked as a jaybird. What the hell was a naked jaybird, anyway? Who cares? I gotta get out of here,_ Damon thought. He got to his feet and staggered a couple of steps.

"Are you all right?" Stefan asked, seeing that Damon was unsteady. Then the phone in his pocket rang. He reached for it as he watched Damon get control.

"I'm all right now, I guess. I'll see you back at the house," Damon said and he bolted off through the woods.

Stefan put the phone to his ear as he hugged the child, watched Damon disappear into the night and he also saw the flashlights getting closer. He started walking toward them as he said, "Hello?" into the phone.

"Stefan!" came Bonnie's voice. "Sorry about the delay, but I think I found the spell to undo the recurrence of the dog thing. Is Damon there? Has he changed back?"

"Yeah, he changed back. Did it occur to you that the time and place might not be right? I mean, as a dog he didn't have any clothes on."

"Oh! I didn't think he might be with someone else. I figured he'd be home. Just with you," Bonnie said. "So, was he naked in front of a bunch of people?"

Stefan could hear a bit of humor in her tone. She would not have been upset very much if that had happened to his brother.

"No, he was just with me. Look, I'm in the middle of something. I need to go. Thanks for undoing the spell, Bonnie." He then called out to the searchers.

Damon got back to the house and let himself inside. It was good to be able to open the door easily. He went up the back stairs and to his room. He stood in front of the mirror and studied his nice human form. He also removed the collar and threw it on the floor. He felt dirty now, so he went into the bathroom and took a quick shower in the shower stall while he ran hot water into the tub so he could soak. He then added a little bubble bath so he could get the scent of dog off his body and out of his nose.

He was still there, with added hot water, when Stefan came into the room.

"Everything okay?" Stefan asked, putting the lid down on the toilet and sitting down.

"Fine. I assume you turned the kid over to the family. It's damned good that I was out there running around," Damon said.

"Yeah, it was. The little girl is one of Tyler's cousins. She had a hurt ankle. I don't know if it was broken. She had wandered off when everyone thought she was in bed asleep. I didn't mention that you found her. So, you can't take the credit for saving her. Oh, Bonnie called. She undid the spell. I guess you figured that out. She has no idea why it happened to you."

Damon grunted. "I'm not sure I believe her. But what the hell? I'm me again. I gotta tell you, Stef, I had some fun being a dog. It's not the worst thing in the world, as long as you got someone to provide the necessities. You did pretty good as a dog owner, little brother." He rolled his eyes over having to give Stefan a compliment.

"Thanks, but I hope this isn't something we have to deal with again," Stefan said with a crooked smile.

"Oh, I agree. But if it happens again, try to remember to offer the dog a nice shot of bourbon now and then."

A/N I hope you all liked this dog story. I used to have a dog, but now I just have cats. They are fun, too. Thanks for letting me play around with your story, KeKe.


End file.
